North West Statistics
Overview on employment, education, schools in Cheshire and North West
Employment
The unemployment rate stood at 6.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, higher than the UK rate of 5.4 per cent. The average weekly earning at this time stood at £250.
- In April 2008, the median gross weekly earnings for fulltime employees on adult rates was £451, lower than the UK median of £479
- A higher proportion of children (18 per cent) lived in workless households in the second quarter of 2008, than the UK average of 16 per cent
- People over state pension age (over 65 for males and over 60 for females) in 2007 made up 19.2 per cent of the population, compared with 19.1 per cent for the under-16s
- Labour productivity (gross value added per hour worked) in 2007 was 7.8 per cent below the UK average
- Local authorities in the region recycled 29 per cent of household waste in 2006/07 compared with an England average of 31 per cent
Education
- In the region, 60.3 per cent of pupils achieved five grades A*–C at GCSE level or equivalent in 2006/07, compared with 61.3 per cent for the UK as a whole
Schools
- Northwest has about 3,810 colleges and universities about ¼ of the UK's total
- 62 Colleges, 15 Higher Education Institutions, 5 Learning & Skills Councils
- 100,000 Mancunians attending some of higher education either part or full time
- Manchester has the largest concentration of students in any city in the UK
Further extensive statistical information